Monitoring Reports

During periods of drought, the Cooperative Water Supply Operations on the Potomac (CO-OP) helps manage the Washington metropolitan area water supply system by coordinating withdrawals from the Potomac River and off-river reservoirs and recommending releases from upstream reservoirs when forecasted flow in the river is not sufficient to meet expected needs. These needs include water demands and an environmental flow-by of 100 million gallons per day (MGD) on the Potomac River at Little Falls dam near Washington, D.C.

Daily Potomac flow and demand update (Saturday 2021-08-07)

Submitted by admin1 on Sat, 08/07/2021 - 09:00

The Potomac basin upstream of Little Falls dam received no significant precipitation over the past 24 hours. The forecast for the next 3 days is 0.01 to 0.10 inches throughout much of the basin, though up to 0.50 inches is expected in the southeastern portion of the basin, including in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.

Daily Potomac flow and demand update (Wednesday 2021-08-04)

Submitted by admin1 on Wed, 08/04/2021 - 09:00

No appreciable rain fell in the basin over the past 24 hours. A trace amount, up to 0.1 inches, is expected over the next three days.

Daily flows:
Little Falls gage flow 2021-08-03: 1286 MGD (2390 cfs)
Little Falls gage flow 2021-08-04: 1195 MGD (est., based on recently available real time data) (2220 cfs)
Note: Gage flow at Little Falls is measured after water supply withdrawals.
Point of Rocks flow 2021-08-03: 904 MGD (1680 cfs)
Point of Rocks flow 2021-08-04: 893 MGD (est., based on recently available real time data) (1660 cfs)

Daily Potomac flow and demand update (Sunday 2021-08-01)

Submitted by admin1 on Sun, 08/01/2021 - 09:00

No appreciable rain fell in the basin over the past 24 hours; a trace to 0.25 inches is expected over the next three days.

Recent basin-wide average precipitation (above Little Falls):
(based on CO-OP's Low Flow Forecast System analysis of Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center (MARFC) gridded multi-sensor precipitation estimates)
Yesterday's area-weighted average basin precipitation: 0 (inches)
Past 3-day cumulative area-weighted average basin precipitation: 0.31 (inches)
Past 7-day cumulative area-weighted average basin precipitation: 0.45 (inches)

Daily Potomac flow and demand update (Saturday 2021-07-31)

Submitted by admin1 on Sat, 07/31/2021 - 09:00

Flow in the river has held fairly steady over the past several days, at around 1800 cfs at Point of Rocks, and according to National Weather Service forecasts this will continue to be the case for the upcoming week. No appreciable precipitation fell over the basin during the past 24 hours. The Washington metropolitan area may receive up to an inch of rain over the next 3 days, but much less rain is expected west of the metro area.

Daily Potomac flow and demand update (Friday 2021-07-30)

Submitted by admin1 on Fri, 07/30/2021 - 09:00

The basin received almost a ¼ inch of rain over the last 24 hours. Little rain is expected in the portion of the watershed above Little Falls over the next three days. According to Middle Atlantic River Forecast Center ensemble flow forecasts, flow at Point of Rocks is expected to remain above 1800 cfs over the weekend.

Though flow conditions are not yet of great concern, we intend to continue daily monitoring reports over the weekend, and would appreciate it if you can continue sending withdrawal and reservoir storage data.

Daily Potomac flow and demand update (Thursday 2021-07-29)

Submitted by admin1 on Thu, 07/29/2021 - 09:00

The 3-day forecast (MARFC) estimates 0.01 to 0.1 inches of rainfall in most of the Potomac Basin. There is a chance that the North Branch may receive up to 0.5 an inch of rainfall. According to our recent basin-wide average precipitation, the basin received 0.03 inches of rain in the past 24 hours. The Little Falls gage is now reporting. The gage antenna had been blocked by a broken-down crane.